Page 38 of Mending Hearts

Pasha nodded and shifted sideways to let me squeeze past into the bathroom with several stalls, only one occupied. “Mia?”

“Tyler?” Her voice caught on another sob and the stall door swung back. Mia sat perched on the edge of the seat, black streaks of makeup ran down her face, and her phone was pressed to her ear. “I don’t want to move.”

I dropped my phone into my pocket, then crouched in front of her, and smoothed her hair from her face. I leaned forward and kissed her forehead and then her temple. “I’ll carry you out. We’ll call David from the car and decide if we’re going to the hospital or back to the bus.”

Her fingers played with the damp strands of hair on the top of my head, our foreheads pressed together. I’d forgotten how sweaty I was.

“I knew you’d know what to do.”

“Just give me a second,” I backed away from her and stuck my head out the bathroom door. “Back exit?” I asked Pasha.

“Ready to go.” He nodded and pointed down the deserted hallway.

In the stall, I helped Mia rearrange her clothing and then I swept her into my arms. Immediately, I wished I hadn’t done that last heavy set of weights. The burn didn’t feel quite so good when I was in danger of dropping her. I clenched my jaw and followed Pasha down the narrow hallway to the back exit. Mia’s face was buried in my neck.

“Even your sweat smells like jasmine,” she murmured.

With a chuckle, I settled her tighter against me. “Oh, yeah?”

“It’s nice. I’ve never liked the way a guy’s sweat smelled before. You were working out again?”

“Yeah.” I gave a curt nod as I slid her into the back of the car.

“You do that a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“But you didn’t always work out this much.”

I gave her a sideways look as I settled beside her. “No, I didn’t.” Before she could prod any further, I flashed my phone. “I should call David. You don’t think you’re bleeding anymore?”

“No. But it seemed like a lot.” Her chin wobbled. “It was a lot.”

For a moment, I examined her, tried to decide if I should prod, and then I dialed David. “You were scared?”

Instead of answering, she shifted closer, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, drawing her into my side. From the front seat, Pasha stared at us in the rearview mirror, waiting for instructions. On the fourth ring, David picked up the phone.

After a lot of back and forth and a conversation with Mia that had her in tears again, David said he’d come in the morning to check on her before leaving Missouri, but if the bleeding had stopped, rest and avoiding stress was the prescription for tonight. It was the first time we’d had to strike a balance between the need for privacy and secrecy and the potential need for care.

When we got back to the bus, Pasha offered to carry Mia, but she clung to me, and truthfully, I didn’t want Pasha to take her. I liked that she’d called, that I’d been the one she turned to for help. Once the bus was swept for any security issues, I carried Mia up the stairs and back to her bathroom.

“Did you want to shower?”

She nodded, and when I turned to leave, she grabbed my hand. “Will you stay?”

“In here?” I cleared my throat and glanced around the bathroom. Watching her shower and then walking out of here would test every bit of my willpower.

“In my room, tonight. I don’t want to be alone. What if I wake up later and it’s started again? I can’t handle it. I don’twantto handle it.” Tears pooled in her eyes again, and I slid my hand into her hair and pulled her against my chest. That surge of protectiveness I was coming to expect around her consumed me. I’d battle wild animals for her, cross a desert, walk through fire. Whether the intensity was the baby or something else building between us, I’d never felt protective like this for anyone other than family.

Maybe Katie. Maybe. The situations were so different I couldn’t compare them. I hated that she’d come to mind, almost against my will.

“Yeah,” I murmured against her temple. “I’ll stay.”

She eased the sliding door closed between us, and I went to her bed and sat on the edge. My mind wandered to thoughts of her, slick with water from the shower, back arched, and I jumped up, guilt like a lightning strike. I rubbed my face, annoyed with myself. She’d thought she was having a miscarriage, and not even an hour later, my brain was going to places it shouldn’t. When the water shut off, I breathed a sigh of relief.

In the closet to the left, I dug out some sheets. Couch or floor? The couch was outside her bedroom. Would that be better or worse?

The bathroom door slid open, and Mia stood in the entrance, a towel wrapped around her slight figure.

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